A Training Session
by Suhooo
Summary: A short incident with Vermouth when Sherry hadn't received her codename yet while she was studying in the U.S... nothing romantic.


Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan.

* * *

"… Are you serious?"

"Why, don't you think that I am?"

In a room, where Shiho used to stay while studying abroad in the U.S., there was a visitor whom she did not expect. Even though the visitor was unwelcomed, Vermouth insisted on going for a training session. The reason she stated was that she needed to know how to defend herself when the situation was urgent. Of course, as an intelligent student who never learned anything about physical education, Shiho tried to protest in hopes of not going out with a complete stranger— yes, she was not a stranger, but still—.

"I have no intention on going with you."

"Although I'm your senior?"

"No."

She turned her back and tried to get out of the conversation. Her protest failed miserably, however, as Vermouth forcefully put a cloth moistened with chloroform on Shiho's mouth from her back. As she never expected such things to happen to her, she struggled hard to remove the cloth, eyes widening with surprise and fear. Gasping for air was no good to stop chloroform from getting into her respiratory organs. Speaking of fear, she was only thirteen years old.

Unfortunately, there was no way she could win over Vermouth's strength, and slowly, she felt her consciousness drain from her body. Shiho used all her strength on both hands to take off Vermouth's right hand that was blocking her mouth as a final attempt, yet she could not stop her eyes from closing.

* * *

"Wake up."

There were someone's hands shaking her body, trying to wake Shiho up. She stirred weakly, and opened her eyes as her brain gradually began to function. Suddenly, her eyes were wide open as she saw the place she was in. Shiho was sitting on a chair against a wall, and there was a personal storage of weapons in front of her. The storage was huge— the other end of the room was not even spotted although it was brightly lit—, and all sorts of guns were placed around the walls. There was a woman standing next to her with a gun on her hand, and she tossed it to Shiho as she clumsily caught it. Then Vermouth pointed with her chin without saying anything, commanding her to stand up.

Shiho had no desire to follow her orders, but it seemed that there was no alternative other than doing exactly what she did not want to do. She slowly stood up as she complained inside. Thus it was not a surprise to her when Vermouth came to her with a threatening hand gesture.

"I see that you don't wish to conduct this training session."

"Why should I be?"

"Well, well." She shrugged. "I really should offer you an inducement." Shiho was still showing no interest, not until she spoke her next line. "If you don't meet my requirements, I shall leave you a gunshot wound on your body each time."

She smirked since she saw her eyes widen. "I suppose you surely don't want to have unnecessary injuries? Then whether you like it or not, do follow my orders." A stress was placed on her last words. She kept speaking as Shiho looked at her with a slight discontent. "It's all for your own good. It won't be a bad idea if you know how to use a gun properly in any cases."

"…Fine." She shot a sharp glance at her before looking away. Vermouth merely sniggered once again.

"Good. Well then, we shall start. Do you see the mark there? If you manage to shoot the bull's-eye within three attempts, there will be no harm done. Of course, I will teach you how to shoot a gun before you actually give tries." She took another gun from the wall that looked exactly the same as the one Shiho was holding, and took the shooting position.

"When you're holding a pistol, do make sure that the bead is set to your own sight. The mark, the bead, and your eye should be in one line. Beware of the aftershock, because when you shoot a bullet, the gun will be forced to move backward. Since you have never taken a shot before, use your both hands to stabilise yourself." She made the position as she described, and soon after, there was a gunshot heard in the echoing room.

"See? Do you think you need a further explanation, or you can…" She closed her mouth as Shiho took the ready position without really listening to her. She took a deep breath, and another echoing sound was loudly spread.

"Hm, not bad, but failed to pierce the bull's-eye." She said as she checked whether Shiho managed to meet her 'requirements'. She pressed a button on the wall near the mark, and suddenly it replaced itself to a new one. "Second try."

* * *

Shiho gasped as a bullet left a scratch on her skin. She failed to sustain herself at a standing position— not that she was not ready for the impending pain—, and thus she fell onto the floor, yet determined not to moan in pain. She did manage to meet Vermouth's requirements at the third try, but failed to do so when a silencer was applied to the gun. Vermouth looked down at her, barely showing any emotion. Her voice was steady.

"With that wound on your leg, it will be harder to aim at the target. You have to get this disadvantage through, and that is exactly the reason why I did that. Come on now, stand up."

"Why… should you… do this…" In contrast, Shiho's voice was violently shaking. Her face was looking down on the floor, one hand grasping the fresh wound. Blood smeared her jeans and began dripping. Vermouth thought she was probably struggling with anger, though that did not stop her from being cool.

"Yes, you're young, and we all know it. However, the Organisation wants you to be trained well not only on science or whatsoever you are studying right now, but also on self-defense. Now get up before I fire at you again."

She was silent for a moment.

"If… this is what the Org wants from me… why should I stay alive…" When she spoke again, her voice was about to croak. "I'm not old enough for this… I'm just… just…" Her body began to tremble. Sensing that it might be dangerous for her to keep the gun before she commits something-that-the-Org-would-not-want-to-happen-at-all, Vermouth grabbed the pistol from Shiho's hand and took it away. Apparently, she did not even have the will to hold it, because she just let it slip out of her hand without clinging onto it. As Vermouth clasped Shiho with one hand— again, she was only a young girl aged thirteen—, she spoke while she brought her to her feet. Her gaze softened little.

"Yes, it is tough to go through all of these, especially when you are young. Yet, it is already decided. You, nor I, can change your fate to work for the Organisation, not to mention that I will not allow you to commit suicide while I'm in charge. Blame your parents who dragged you into this if you must. Or the Org itself."

It was the Black Organisation's way. There was no exception or solicitude when the Boss gave orders. Vermouth understood the media the Organisation used to maintain itself, and she had no intent to go against them. Shiho— whom will also receive a codename as soon as she goes back to Japan— is the youngest and probably the smartest member of the Organisation in scientific fields, and generally she was offered with special care because of her unique circumstances— which include she being an orphan, and being sent abroad to America for her studies in science and medicine. However, that did not mean that she would still receive exceptional care when she returns to Japan— although it is somewhat likely, considering her intelligence—, and therefore she also needed basic training that all Organisation members underwent. It did not matter whether Shiho liked the way or not. It mattered if the Organisation wanted it to be done.

Shiho did not reply. She just stood where she was, and she did not look up to meet Vermouth's gaze. Because their height differed almost a feet, she could not really see what she was up to, although she correctly guessed that she was on the verge of crying.

Then the situation went beyond the self-emotion control border. Tears were shed on her eyes, and the ground beneath her encountered a couple of droplets of salty water. Her fists were quivering, yet she did not make a move. Indeed, it must have been onerous for a young girl to endure the amount of burden that is already set upon her shoulder. Obviously, not many would be able to suffer this much.

Vermouth let out a sigh, and told Shiho that she would call it a day. This, though, did not mean that their training was over for forever.

"In another week or so, I'll visit again. Try to remind yourself on how you fired the gun today, because I will definitely not allow you to have one for our own sake. I cannot guarantee that I will be safe in my position after they figure out that you have committed suicide. I tell you, if you cannot escape this situation you are put in, just adapt to it. You are precious to the Org. There is no way that they will let you behave freely. You will, and must, work for them."

She did not reply. Her gaze met Vermouth's in a rather furious way, but behind her wet pupils, she could comprehend that Shiho gave in. As she realised, there was no way she could resist the Organisation.

And that, was one of the incidents how Shiho realised that she was to cope with the Org's life, no matter how much her mind was opposed to it.

At the same time, that was how Shiho started feeling disillusioned at them.

* * *

Author's Note: First short story ever that I initially wrote in English! (There are dozens of Korean short stories and a long story that I've written so far and I couldn't be bothered to translate them cuz translation has less fun than writing a new one... haha. If anyone wants them, I'll simply post them in Korean before I translate them into English some day in the future...)

I hope this story gives you guys a message that I wanted to:

One of them to note is that Vermouth did NOT cure Shiho's wound, and that's because she is not really warm-hearted. She may feel a little bit of sympathy to her, but that does not mean that she would be nice to Shiho. (Something must have happened later on, which made Vermouth wish to kill her...)

Another thing is that the Org must have acted in this kind of way to Shiho when she worked for them... it wouldn't've been any less nice. *evil smile*


End file.
